1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ratchet wrench, and more particularly, to a ratchet wrench whose ratcheting directions are controlled by pivoting the handle.
2. Descriptions of Related Art
The conventional ratchet wrench disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,245,602 includes a wrench head having a pawl compartment formed between a notch and a chamber of the wrench head, a drive member mounted in the chamber of the wrench head and having a ratchet gear, a pawl slidably received in the pawl compartment of the wrench head for engaging with the ratchet gear and for controlling the driving direction of the drive member by the wrench head, a handle having a pivotal coupling member mounted in the notch of the wrench head, and an actuating member attached to the pivotal coupling member and engaged with the pawl for moving the pawl to either side of the pawl compartment of the wrench head in order to determine the driving direction of the drive member by the wrench head.
The handle is resiliently connected to the pawl which contacts against the sidewall of the pawl compartment to change the direction of the pawl, and the pivotal coupling member use its sidewall to assist the pivoting action of the head. However, because the end of the handle and the pivotal coupling member are received in the head, so that the thickness of head cannot be make thick enough, therefore, the head that mounting the end of the handle and the pivotal coupling member can be broken after frequent use. During the pivoting action of the handle, the end of the handle is applied by an axial force which may affects the cap to be loosened because only a second clip is used to position the cap. The notch for receiving the end of the handle and the end of the handle require accurate machining to ensure that the end of the handle to be pivoted smoothly. Besides, the position of the pawl compartment affects the angle that the handle is to be rotated. The head provides only a limited area to have all of the notch, the pawl compartment and the chamber, it requires extra machining conditions which means high cost is involved. After a period of time of use, the wearing happened to the notch and the end of the handle affects the change of the switch of the ratcheting directions, the whole handle or head of the wrench may be replaced.
The present invention intends to provide a ratchet wrench that improves the shortcomings mentioned above.